DARTFORD enjoyed their most impressive league result of the season so far on Tuesday when they beat leaders Braintree Town on Tuesday evening.

Perhaps over the Princes Park tunnel there ought to be an inscription paraphrasing Julius Caesar: ‘You come, you see, we conquer - sometimes with 10-men!’ Braintree came out of the blocks like greyhounds and brought an early save by Andrew Young, who flicked a header following a right-side cross over his bar.

Darts countered with two raids and two teasing crosses.

Then the game broke wide open firstly when Charlie Sheringham was floored by Adam Bailey Thomas, the Dart requiring lengthy treatment as the offender escaped unpunished.

Then the roles were reversed and Sheringham was duly red-carded for an apparent elbowing incident.

Darts have a Plan B for such conditions and it was immediately invoked with every man going the extra mile, none more so than bandaged Lee Noble and Elliot Bradbrook who, as captain, played a leading part.

Braintree appeared to have no strategy to deal with the altered circumstances. Even if they might have, Darts, backed by a vociferous crowd, thwarted the visitors at every turn.

The second half was Farnborough revisited, except that the go-ahead goal was a long time in coming. Again, unlike Farnborough, Braintree seemed to give up the ghost confronted as they were by Darts' rearguard who won every key battle. On the rare occasions when they got sight of goal they found Andy Young in unbeatable mood and his second successive clean sheet was fully earned. Of course, the new men played important parts.

Matt Jones and Jon Main played as though they had been at Princes Park for ever. And, backed by a vociferous choir, everybody chipped in with vital contributions which extended Darts' current unbeaten run to six games in all competitions.

The winning goal came from a swift three-man break, which left toan and the goalkeeper flat on the ground, enabling Elliot Bradbrook to smash a shot into the empty net with 12 minutes remaining.

In the dying moments Tom Champion tried an audacious lob from 50 yards that just went outside the left post.

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Darts: Young, Jones, Bonner, Bruce, Goodacre, Champion, Noble, Harris, Sheringham, .Main (Rook 86) Bradbrook. Subs not used: Hayes, White, Burman, Ibrahim. Att:841.